


Unintended: Beyond Fate's Reach

by ColdGoldLazarus, forkinyoureye



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Cancelled, Gen, Kids and Trolls standing around awkwardly, OCs - Freeform, another Sburb session
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-06-06
Updated: 2011-06-06
Packaged: 2017-10-20 05:10:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/209085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColdGoldLazarus/pseuds/ColdGoldLazarus, https://archiveofourown.org/users/forkinyoureye/pseuds/forkinyoureye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Sburb session that was never meant to happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unintended: Beyond Fate's Reach

**Author's Note:**

> Also writing this is a friend of ours who doesn't have an Archive of Our Own account.  
> ENJOY, BECAUSE WE DID.

A mouse lay upon hard ground, unmoving. A snake coiled on a branch nearby, watching the furry critter. It slowly reared it’s head back in preparation to strike, then-

Quinn Elias Coral averted his gaze from the terrarium. He liked his snakes, sure, but he couldn’t say the same for their method of eating. To distract himself while Ali gorged herself on the dead mouse, he looked around his room. Nothing changed, as usual, and that was the way he liked it.

The walls were bare, as he had no posters to put up there, because he was cheap like that. The floor was similarly bare, but more due to his perfectionist clean-freak-streak. Not that he called it that. His friend, Kyle, had been the one to dub his habits as such after learning of an incident at school where Quinn had been caught rearranging the teacher’s pen-holder for better efficiency.

There was his bed, which was neatly made, sheets with various designs for paradox architecture, carefully folded into Hospital Corners, pillows set on top    
just right   
. Beside it stood the nightstand, empty except for his lamp and a single Library book. Because he was cheap.

Across from that was the Chest-of-drawers, atop which sat the terrarium for his snakes, Ali and Inspector Gadget. Along the third wall was his desk, and the one window in the room. On his desk was a pencil-holder and his laptop, both carefully parallel to the sides of the tabletop. Out the window, rain pattered as lighting flashed in the distance.

Lastly, on the final wall was his closet and the door to the rest of his house. Inside the closet, the clothes were neatly ordered and hung, and spare items organized neatly on the shelves.

His computer let out a small ‘ding,’ signaling that someone was pestering him. Quinn sat down and responded.

  
\-- mercurialMortician[MM]began pestering randomReptile[RR] at 9:26 --

MM: hello quinn.   
MM: how are you today?   
RR: Quite well, thankssssss.   
RR: And you?   
MM: i could be better, but all in all, i’M not bad.   
RR: What would appear to be the problem?   
MM: there’s no probleM, My day just isn’t the best.   
RR: That workssssss.   
RR: I think Ssssssburb issssss coming later today.   
RR: If the rain doessssssn’t scare off the posssssstman.   
MM: i don’t think it will.   
MM: Mail is usually delivered no Matter what the weather.   
RR: Perhapssssss... But you haven’t sssssseen Sssssseattle weather...   
RR: I hope the mail comessssss regardlessssss.   
MM: it will.   
MM: it’s part of the job, to deliver in all weather.   
RR: True. It’ssssss a federal frikken’ issssssue.    
RR: Yessssss the fate of the nation dependssssss on me getting that game   
RR: That wassssss ssssssarcassssssm   
MM: i could tell.   
MM: if sarcasM was a vehicle, yours would be a freight train.   
MM: i usually go for the coMpact car Myself.   
RR: To extend the metaphor, at leasssssst I don’t have EH’ssssss Jumbo Jet.   
MM: and for that, i aM thankful.  one of those is irritating enough.   
RR: And we are in agreement. I am not ssssssure I could take it if there wassssss another like him.   
MM: unfortunately, there are other people like that out there.  i count Myself fortunate that i have only Met one.   
RR: Indeed   
RR: I wonder if they have the ssssssame general disssssslike of people of our calibre.   
MM: perhaps.   
MM: but that May just be hiM.  or we could actually be really annoying.   
RR: Perhapssssss.   
RR: I guessssss I haven’t conssssssidered the issssssue from that particular persssssspective.   
MM: i suppose that is the downside to driving a coMpact car.   
MM: you are difficult to notice.   
RR: Unlessssss you sssssseek to esssssscape ssssssuch notice.   
MM: yes, that would be advantageous.   
MM: i have to go, i think My Mother is getting suspicious.   
RR: Give her a tight, painful hug for me. :)   
MM: if you insist.

\-- mercurialMortician[MM] ceased pestering randomReptile[RR] at 9:31 --

There was a small thunk from the opposite end of the house, signifying that the mailwoman had indeed pulled through. Quinn stood up from his desk, and stretching his cramping arms, went to retrieve his copy of the Sburb beta.

  
***

Three minutes and one unnecessary guardian strife later, Quinn triumphantly, if dazedly, and with a patch of motor oil on his cheek, returned to his room with two disk packets with green houses on the covers. His aunt was nice, sure, if a bit distant, but her overt obsession with motorcycles had gotten to the point where it was just plain weird. 

He looked at the packages, one for server, one for client, and debated. Should he pester Lera and let her know he had the game? But no, she’d mentioned that her mother was being her usual invasive self, and he knew that times like that could last for hours. So he finally selected the Client disk and gently inserted into his CD drive; maybe he could start off with some random person, and get used to the controls so that he wouldn’t seem foolish in front of his friend when they played.

A whirring noise came from the computer, and he clicked on the Sburb icon that appeearred. A text window popped up with the words “Client has established connection with host.  Press [ENTER] when ready.”  Quinn complied, and what followed was one of the most awesome loading screens in existence. The music was    
[   
a bit familiar   
](http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037)   
, but still awesome.

The window disappeared, and Quinn held his breath, anticipating an intriguing game that deserved all the hype it was getting.

Nothing happened.

Quinn frowned, and double clicked the spirograph again.  Another text box shared the message “Client has already connected to host.”  It closed after he finished reading it.  He pulled up Pesterchum to see what Lera had to say about this, and noticed that a new chumhandle had appeared on his chumroll: dreamingDragon.  He moved his cursor over the name and was about to click it when his computer dinged.

  
\-- dreamingDragon[DD] began trolling randomReptile[RR] at 9:35 --

DD: Hello.   
DD: I’m going to guess that you’re a game construct or something, but I may as well speak to you anyways.   
RR: What?   
RR: I’m not a game consssssstruct, I’m a persssssson! Though I guessssss from the way you’re talking, you musssssst be my Sssssserver Player. Interessssssting.   
DD: No, you can’t be real.  Even overlooking your unnaturally pale skin, you don’t have any horns, and looking through your house, I don’t see a lusus.   
RR: I like my complexion the way it issssss. :I   
RR: And what? Hornssssss? Lussssssussssss? Are you ssssssure that    
you’re    
not the game consssssstruct? I’m ssssssurprissssssssed that the game is Pessssssterchum-integrated...   
DD: Pesterchum?  What’s that?  And yes, I’m one hundred percent sure that I wasn’t made by this game.   
RR: Now I know you’re a consssssstruct, because Pessssssterchum issssss what we’re ussssssing to communicate! Not to mention the overdenialssssss.   
RR: Sssssso I guessssss you’re sssssssuppossssssed to be the annoying persssssson who tellssssss me about quesssssstssssss or whatever, or advisssssssessssss me about whatever elsssssse would apply to whatever genre thissssss game is?   
DD: ...Okay, first of all, I’m using Trollian.  Second of all, why are you overusing the letter ‘s’?  Third, that’s what I thought you were there for.   
DD: Either Sgrub has the best artificial intelligence on the face of Alternia, or something is seriously wrong.

Quinn stared at the words on his screen.    
And suddenly, he understood jack shit.

***

A window stood ajar on the second floor of a completely nondescript house. A tree stood in the house’s front yard, and if an observer looked closely, they could see that a branch that strayed particularly close to the open window was bent a bit further down than it’s weight and size would suggest, and smaller branches and twigs coming from the top of that limb were snapped off or bent to the sides, as if they had been stepped on in someone’s journey down it towards the ground on their way to the library while trying to avoid their crazy mother.

Of course, that was the case. Said individual was now returning to her room via the same method she had left. Through the open window, Lera Ilium could hear music drifting out, a Perfect Circle album she’d left on repeat in her stereo in an attempt to prevent her decidedly nosy mother from investigating. It also had the upside of being some of her favorite music. As she clambered in through the window, trying to be as quiet as possible about it, she noted that the song playing now was The Outsider. Fitting. 

However, she’d barely walked clear of her window when her doorknob began to turn.  She abruptly sat down on the edge of her bed, picking up the nearest book and opening it to a random page. She noticed the book was upside down, and quickly turned it as her mother peered in. 

“Why were you reading that book upside down?”

“Why not?” It was a lame excuse, but Lera couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I suppose there is no reason not to, but it is somewhat more difficult.”

“True, and I found that out firsthand. I think I will attempt a more ‘normal’ method.” Then, to be a smartass, she turned it sideways with a defiant look, catching a glimpse of the words on the page.  It seemed to be about a knight who had been stripped of his titles.  “There, how’s that?”

Her mother simply shook her head, and with a slight frown at the open window, she quietly retreated, closing the door behind her. The shadows under the door did not move.

Lera stood up and turned off her stereo, then knowing that her mother could wait like this for a long time before being satisfied that she was being a good little girl, fell back down on her mattress with a fwump and picked up the book again, deciding she’d give it a try.  She was, of course, interrupted by her computer chiming.  She sighed and set the book on the shelf.

  
\-- randomReptile[RR] began pestering mercurialMortician[MM] at 9:39 --

RR: This may be jusssssst a prank, but if sssssso, it’ssssss a really convincing one, and I’m not going to take that chance even if it makessssss me gullible so pleasssssse I don’t know what’ssssss going on there’ssssss furniture flying around, and I think an alien issssss talking to me and oh wow I ssssssound sssssso sssssstupid...   
MM: i’M sorry, what?   
RR: I   
RR: I should take this from the top.   
RR: Shortly after we talked, I got Sburb, and turned it on and all that.   
RR: but nothing happened, and some guy started pestering me saying that I look weird, and we both thought the other had to do with the game, but he said something about being from some place called ‘Alternate’ or something like that.   
RR: Soon after that, my bathroom sink crashes through my wall, weird stuff shows up, and now the rain’s stopped and a meteor is heading towards my house.   
RR: So yeah.   
MM: ...is this a joke?   
RR: I honesssssstly have no idea.   
RR: I hope it issssss.   
MM: i honestly can’t think of anything to say.   
MM: there’s no way a video gaMe should be able to Mess with your house.   
MM: but if there is...i’M going to go check the Mail.  i have to wait for My Mother to go away first, though, so i will have some More tiMe to speak with you.   
RR: Okay.    
RR: Could you try pesssssstering ssssssomeone named DreamingDragon? If he’ssssss there, it meanssssss I’m not crazy.   
RR: and the bad part issssss that I’m hoping he issssssn’t there.   
MM: yes, i will do so.   
MM: it didn’t work.  there’s no user with the chuMhandle dreaMingdragon.   
RR: Did you use your weird quirk when looking for him?   
MM: no, i did not capitalize the letter M.   
MM: the fact of the Matter is that this person does not exist.   
RR: Maybe it’ssssss becausssssse he’ssssss an alien.   
RR: I can’t believe I jusssssst wrote that...   
MM: neither can i.  although it May be that he or she is just highly skilled with coMputers.   
RR: Maybe.   
RR: But I am seriously freaking out here nonetheless. I mean, I am standing on my sink right now!   
RR: Or it’s the floor and I’m too caught up in some weird insanity-induced fantasy to realize that.   
RR: sdnfgjkfjnnjtedjfbvndfsdfjnfdndgjndasjblsaflvfn

Lera sat back. It was entirely possible that Quinn had gotten into the medicine cabinet and tried some of the pretty candy, but she thought it unlikely.  Although it did seem more probable than a game that altered reality, not that she was opposed to such a thing.

  
MM: i don’t suppose you could send Me a picture?   
\-- randomReptile    
[RR]   
sent mercurialMortician    
[MM]   
the file    
FFFFFF.jpg   
\--   
RR: Here   
MM: that...that’s just strange.   
RR: it’s strange and scaring the crap out of me. This should not be happening.   
\-- randomReptile    
[RR]   
sent mercurialMortician    
[MM]   
the file    
FFFFFF2.jpg   
\--   
RR: Oh, crap, gtg   
RR: My snakes are being moved!   
\-- randomReptile is now an idle chum! --

    On the file she’d been sent was a wide capture of her friend’s room. It was a mess, but the thing that captured her attention was the terrarium for his snakes.   
    It was floating in midair.   
    She checked under the door, saw that her mother was gone, and clambered out the window again.  Destination: mailbox.

***

    After wrestling his terrarium to the floor, Quinn peered inside to reassure himself that his snakes were fine. They were a bit peeved, but who wouldn’t be? Inspector Gadget was curled up tight around a branch, hissing softly. Ali was trying to crawl up the wall in a frenzied vigor.   
    Quinn set the terrarium on his desk, keeping one arm over it in case it flew off again. With the other hand, he checked Pesterchum. Lera was offline.   
    Well, that wasn't good.

***

    The mailbox was empty.  Damn.  Lera closed it quietly and turned back toward her house. She froze, gaze locked on the dining room window. Her mother was standing there, with a faint, slightly malevolent smile, looking right back at her.

**Author's Note:**

> We may or may not have images linked to in the pesterlogs later on. I don't really know.  
> Also, because we don't really know how to do colors, MM's text is bright red, RR's is muted green, and DD's is bluish purple.


End file.
